the tracks go off in this direction…

While the Micargi California is a great value in a 26″ wheeled tandem, mostly thanks to its well designed frame, it does have its weak points. The stock wheels are fine for casual use – we’ve ridden them on several short neighborhood rides and one longer ride on one of my usual road loops – but their single wall construction, 36 spokes, and low flanged hubs raise concerns for long term durability.

On their own none of these are particularly problematic but wheel durability, especially for tandems, depends on a lot of things including rider and luggage weight, terrain, riding style, tire width/pressure, and expected performance. A light team riding unloaded on smooth roads can use a relatively low spoke count and/or lighter rim without having to true it very often. Change some of those factors and you impact the durability so maintenance goes up.

Given our intended use for the tandem I wanted a wheelset that would handle any road (paved or not) and a light touring load with our ~325lb team. There are a number of pre-built or custom options to meet these requirements but I like building my own wheels for the extra options it gives in terms of choosing hubs and rims. I also wanted to keep the cost down.

The stock cranks and bottom brackets are functional if not fancy. The steel bottom brackets were well adjusted to spin freely without play. While the riveted chain rings would require the stoker drive crank to be replaced eventually as the chain rings wore out, you could likely go thousands of miles on the provided cranks.

I came across a Truvativ Elita road tandem crankset with bottom brackets for a great price and thought it would make a worthwhile upgrade to the stock crankset and bottom brackets.

My wife and I recently became interested in the idea of a tandem for paved and dirt road use. I want to use 1.75″ – 2″ tires with fenders so 26″ wheel tandems seemed a good starting point.

Looking at the options for lower priced tandems I came across one I’ve been unable to find much info on – the Micargi California. In some ways it’s the Giordano Viaggio of 26″ wheeled tandems but there are some appealing aspects:

For some time now I’ve been wondering about road bikes. I really enjoy the combination of speed and comfort my Bianchi Volpe provides; the 35mm tires can handle everything from bad pavement to unpaved trails while still being fast enough on the road. It’s a versatile commuter and exploring bike.

My Bianchi Volpe in commuting mode.

By comparison a road bike seems almost limited. Still the idea of a lighter, more responsive bike than the Volpe in its current guise has appeal. Modern road bikes made of aluminum and carbon fiber don’t interest me very much so I began looking at classic ’80s racers and their sleek steel frames.

I recently altered my commuting route to include more back roads at the cost of adding only a few miles to the round trip. The ride is now much more enjoyable, as if it were a ride I’d choose to take on a weekend rather than a commute.

The new route takes North Road through Great Brook Farm State Park, which has rolling hills and is mostly tree covered with a few open areas like the one pictured below.

On the ride home I take the Narrow Gauge Rail Trail from Bedford up to Billerica. It is unpaved and I rarely encouter other bikes though walkers and joggers are not uncommon. The surface is well packed for most of its length and it rides like a dirt road.

Today I headed over to Great Brook Farm for my Saturday morning ride. The weather was great, starting out a bit cool and warming up during the ride.

We’ve had a few days of rain making for some wet sections on the trails. This was the first real test for my new fender, a Zefal Deflector RM60, and it performed well. It is sturdy and holds its position while riding, yet will move if it hits the ground so as not to break. Coverage is perfectly adequate for the 36″ wheel.

This ride has a great variety of terrain. The 36″ unicycle is a good match for the road and wide trail sections on this ride and when I’m up for a challenge riding some of the trickier trails in the woods is a blast.

The streets were wet from last night’s rain but the air was warm when I set out for my Saturday morning ride. The recent rains have littered the ground with leaves but there are still plenty left on the trees. Everything combined to make for a really nice ride.